November 25,1996
Dear Br. Arnold:
It has been several years since I have had the genuine pleasure of talking with you. I remember several conversations we had when I was living on Ridge Road in Eidson and you stopped by for some reason.
I have a special ministry of writing to men to encourage them
to be all that God intended us to be. As I thought of writing
to you, I paused to consider what I knew about you, and one thing
immediately became evident. I admire your quiet, unobtrusive disposition.
I don’t mean either to flatter or insult you, but I was impressed
by you unassuming demeanor. You may not be this way at home or
on the job but, at least on those few occasions that we spoke
together, I was delighted to find someone who was not brash, boastful,
overly talkative, self-assured beyond reason, or so selfish that
he could not spare the time to listen to me.
When we meet people, they reflect or exhibit one of two character
traits, they are either like Christ or they are like Satan. The
Bible calls us sheep and that is an apt description. We are so
mailable, at least in our character traits, that we are molded
either by Christ or Satan and quite frequently by both so we end
up with a mixture of good and bad traits, which serves only to
confuse our friends and family, for they never know who they will
encounter, Christ or Satan, when they talk with us.
Character is the only thing that we take with us to heaven and
a Christ-like character is our only qualification for heaven.
Only those people who reflect his glory are found there: you are
well on your way to qualifying for eternity.
I am concerned for men. We are fast loosing sight of the importance of a Christ-like demeanor. But what was his character like? It is interesting to note the men whom He gathered about Him, whom the Bible calls His disciples. They weren’t nice people, as we might call nice people. They were, in most cases, ordinary common laborers or they were small business men, such as yourself. They had evil traits, angry tempers and dispositions, some of them were rough and course. It is interesting to notice that the one man, among the twelve, whom our society might label as successful and even bright, was the one who betrayed him. Christ did not choose the wise of this world as His disciples. Nor did He choose the intelligent, rich, famous, influential, powerful, socially prominent, politically astute, or wealthy. He choose MEN who were humble, flawed, but teachable. It ought to be an encouragement to us, when it came time to make up his church on earth, that He choose common men, like you and me, to be leaders in his cause.
There are many fine attributes in you that Christ placed there.
He desires that you will use them for the advancement of His church.
In your capacity, as a contractor, you meet many varied personalities
and characters every day. Here is a missionary field that Christ
desires you to cultivate, with His guidance and wisdom.
May the Lord richly bless you and your wife. Your brother in Christ.
Allen A. Benson